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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29888286">The Perfect Date</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/merelypassingtime/pseuds/merelypassingtime'>merelypassingtime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Banter, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:02:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,535</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29888286</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/merelypassingtime/pseuds/merelypassingtime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky’s idea of the perfect date may surprise you...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>78</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Perfect Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks to CruciatusForeplay and noxnthea for betaing reading this for me!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Bucky!” Steve yelled, storming into the common area with all his usual theatrics.</p><p>Bucky made a point of not looking up, turning a page of his book lazily before asking, “What’s up, Stevie?”</p><p>“What the hell is this?” </p><p>Bucky glanced up before answering, “That’s a magazine, you doofus. They’ve been around since our day.”</p><p>“I know that, jerk. What I don’t know is why you’re on the cover of it!”</p><p>Bucky shrugged. “Pepper thought it would improve my public image. Something about winning over the real power in the country: Horny fangirls.”</p><p>“Pepper is smart like that,” Tony said, appearing like magic as if summoned by the drama, or, more likely, by the AI who ran the Tower. “And that picture is certainly a good start to winning people over.”</p><p>“The photographer said the black and white would bring out my ‘smoldering, old school Hollywood profile,’” Bucky admitted, a little embarrassed.</p><p>“She wasn’t wrong.”</p><p>“I don’t care about the picture!” Steve exploded.</p><p>“Really?” Bucky asked. “I thought as an artist you’d have some opinion, god knows you always do.”</p><p>“And I might have before I read the article.”</p><p>“What’s wrong with the article? I didn’t say anything too embarrassing about you, even though they did give me a great opportunity to tell the story about you, Dolores Adam, and the ‘clarinet lessons.’”</p><p>“Ooo, spill!” Tony demanded, plopping down on one of the bar stools. He propped his elbows up on the bar and rested his head on his hands, directing an intent stare at Bucky.</p><p>Steve blanched. “No! Tony, stay out of this.”</p><p>Bucky and Tony snorted at the same time.</p><p>“Okay, fine,” Steve conceded, “but at least hold your tongue until Bucky explains this to me.” </p><p>Steve flipped the magazine open to another picture of Bucky, this time in an unbuttoned white shirt, glowering at the camera. He rested his finger in the middle of the block of text facing the article, then shoved the page in Bucky’s face.</p><p>“Ah, Stevie. Have you forgotten how to read?”</p><p>“I wish, just humor me.”</p><p>“Fine,” Bucky said, then started reading. “Cosmo: What do you think the perfect date would be?”</p><p>“Oh, my god!” Tony interrupted. “Tell me he said April twenty-fifth!”</p><p>When Steve and Bucky just stared at him, Tony continued, “Because it's not too hot or too cold, and all you need is a light jacket.”</p><p>“Okay…” Bucky said, drawing out the word into a question.</p><p>Tony hufted. “Jarvis, add that to the list of movies we need to watch.”</p><p>“Yes sir,” Jarvis replied.</p><p>“No, Bucky didn’t say April. Instead, he said, and I quote,” Steve said, pulling the magazine out of Bucky’s hands and reading it out loud.</p><p><b>Cosmo:</b> <i>What do you think the perfect date would be?</i><br/>
<b>BB:</b> Huh, you know, I haven’t really thought about it much, but probably Barton.<br/>
<b>Cosmo:</b> <i>Barton? Is that a town?</i><br/>
<b>BB:</b> What? No! Clint Barton. You know, Hawkeye.<br/>
<b>Cosmo:</b> <i>Your fellow Avenger? He’s your perfect date?</i><br/>
<b>BB:</b> I mean, yeah I guess. He’s pretty easy on the eyes, and he has a great sense of humor. Plus, he had this way of putting anyone at ease, I always feel real comfortable around him. Yeah. I think any date with him would be great.</p><p>There was a moment of silence, then Tony started laughing.</p><p>“What?” Bucky demanded. “It was the truth.”</p><p>Steve threw up his hands. Bucky! You just came out as gay to the whole world.”</p><p>“So? I don’t really understand why you’re so upset, Stevie.”</p><p>“Because you just dropped the knowledge out there, like it was no big deal.”</p><p>“It shouldn’t be a big deal,” Bucky growled.</p><p>“I know that,” Steve said. “But you also know that it still is.”</p><p>“Again, so what? It’s not like they can beat me to death for it anymore.” The tone of his voice left the unsaid <i>’and I’d love to see them try’</i> clear nevertheless.</p><p>Steve muttered, “You still could have warned us so we could get a statement together or something.”</p><p>Bucky tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at his old friend. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s what is really bugging you.“</p><p>“You could've told me first,” Steve admitted, not meeting his gaze.</p><p>Bucky stared at him anyway. “I assumed you knew.”</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“I’ve never hid the fact I liked guys, not from you. Not since we were kids.”</p><p>“Yes you did!” Steve accused.</p><p>“We literally went on double dates: you, me, Katie, and Daniel Hicks.”</p><p>“You were dating Daniel Hicks?”</p><p>Flabbergasted, Bucky asked, “You thought I would spend time with him just for his personality?”</p><p>“I didn’t know!”</p><p>“He was an asshole.”</p><p>“That didn’t stop you from hanging around him and not me for most of tenth grade.”</p><p>“That because every chance we could we’d sneak out behind the school woodshop and-”</p><p>“Gawh!” Steve shrieked. “I don’t want to know!”</p><p>“That’s funny, because you were just yelling at me for not telling you about it!"</p><p>Steve started to reply angrily, then stopped. He heaved a sigh, and admitted, “Okay, that’s fair. I was being a jerk.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, “you were. But I’m used to it. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I just assumed you knew.”</p><p>From his place at the bar, Tony sighed loudly. “Really? The fight’s already over? I was just gonna make some popcorn.”</p><p>Bucky and Steve said in unison, “Shut up, Tony.”</p><p>“Fine, fine. I see how it is. ‘Brooklyn Boys’ forever and all that,” he said, making air quotes around the name, “but I wonder if either of you have spared a thought about how our intrepid archer is gonna take this.”</p><p>Bucky gave him a blank look. “Clint? No, I guess I really hadn’t. Should I have? Oh, God is he gonna have a problem with me being gay?”</p><p>For some reason, that started Tony laughing again. Bucky looked over at Steve, but he only shrugged. “I don’t think Clint’s got anything against gay people, but you know how secretive he can be.”</p><p>“Unless he’s had a few drinks,” Tony got out between his giggles. “Then Clint will happily prove that the only thing he’s got against gay people is himself while he’s grinding against them.”</p><p>“Well, that’s an image,” Steve said.</p><p>“Oh,” Bucky said more softly. “That’s good to know, I guess.”</p><p>Tony agreed, “Yeah, so just imagine how our fine fletched friend is going to react to finding out Frosty here is sweet on him.”</p><p>“I never said that!” Bucky objected.</p><p>Almost apologetically, Steve said, “You did call him the perfect date, Buck. You gotta know how that sounds.”</p><p>“I didn’t mean it that way.”</p><p>“Didn’t you?” Tony asked. “Because I doubt I’m the only person who’s noticed you throwing some pretty long looks his way for the last couple of months.”</p><p>“People will always watch a trainwreck,” Bucky said uncomfortably.</p><p>“Not like they actively want the train to wreck them,” Tony replied gleefully.</p><p>Bucky wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean, but by the way Steve’s ears were reddened Bucky guessed he did understand and that it was something to do with sex. </p><p>That guess was confirmed when Steve said with exasperation, “Tony.”</p><p>“What? I think it’s sort of cute, like we’re living in a rom-com and I get to be the sassy friend while Steve is the grumpy neighbor.”</p><p>“I am not grumpy!” Steve grumped.</p><p>Jarvis chose that moment to interrupt as politely as ever. “Sirs, I thought you might like to know that Agent Barton is currently in the elevator on the way up.”</p><p>“Oh, wow,” Tony said into the silence that followed. “I’m going to make popcorn after all. </p><p>A little desperately, Bucky said, “It doesn’t mean anything. The guy lives here after all, he’s probably just coming home, right?”</p><p>Tony chuckled while Steve gave him a pitying look.</p><p>“So, I think maybe I’ll just head up to my room, maybe take a nap or something,” Bucky said, getting quickly to his feet.</p><p>He almost made it to the stairway before the elevator doors opened and a disheveled and desperate-looking Clint stepped out, already scanning the room frantically. When he spotted Bucky, their eyes locked for a second, then Clint was striding across the distance, so intent and gorgeous that Bucky could only stand there frozen in place.</p><p>Clint halted in front of him, less than an arm’s length away. In fact, one of Clint’s arms twitched upward, as if he wanted to close even tha last little distance between them but stopped himself.</p><p>“I-” Clint started, then didn’t seem to know what to say.</p><p>Bucky saw a question in his eyes though and without thinking he replied, “Yes.” </p><p>He wasn’t entirely sure what he was agreeing to, but it didn’t matter because with Clint the answer was always going to be yes.</p><p>“Awesome,” Clint whispered, his voice full of wonder.</p><p>Then his hand was resting gently against Bucky’s cheek and Clint was leaning in. When their lips met, it too was gentle and steadying, and more than Bucky could’ve ever imagined.</p><p>Dimly he heard Tony whistling and cheering in the background, but it wasn’t important.</p><p>All that mattered was this man and this kiss.</p><p>Just as he’d thought, it was perfect.</p>
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